Fridge fly-tipping on the rise

Released on 21 December 2017

Over the festive season, fly-tipping levels often rise, creating a costly and un-necessary blight on the communities in South Staffordshire. In particular, there has been a noticeable rise in fridge fly-tipping recently with almost 200 fridges being dumped in the district since April 2017.

"It's a problem all over the country," explains Councillor Roger Lees, Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services. “When households buy a new fridge, the old one is left outside for collectors to take. Rogue scrap metal collectors are then taking the fridges, removing the parts that can be sold easily such as the motors and condensers before fly-tipping the rest of the fridge.

“A lot of residents aren't aware that you can be held responsible under a provision known as 'duty of care' if your waste is found fly-tipped and traced back to your home. It happens when people have failed to make proper checks that the person who offered to take away and dispose of their waste is actually licensed to do so. As a council, we have successfully prosecuted six people since April 2017 for breaching environmental laws following fly-tipping and this has resulted in fines and court costs approaching £3,500."

Are you disposing of a fridge before Christmas or buying a new one in the January sales?

- Take your old fridge to your nearest household recycling centre in Bilbrook, Cannock and Wombourne.

- Use a registered waste carrier to remove your fridge and check the public registers at https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/index It is legal duty of householders to check that anyone taking waste from their home is registered and has a waste carrier licence from the Environment Agency. Failing to make proper checks is a criminal offence.

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